Robert Herman Flock (born November 4, 1956) is an American

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

who serves as

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Ignacio de Velasco,

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

Biography

Born in

Sparta, Wisconsin Sparta is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County, Wisconsin, United States, along the La Crosse River. The population was 10,025 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Sparta is located on former Ho-Chunk territory acq ...

, Flock was ordained to the priesthood on July 9, 1982, for the Roman Catholic Diocese of La Crosse,

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. Flock received theological training from St. Francis de Salles College Seminary, as well as from the

Pontifical North American College The Pontifical North American College (NAC) is a Catholic Church, Roman Catholic educational institution in Rome, Italy, that prepares seminarians to become priests in the United States and elsewhere. The NAC also provides a residence for Prie ...

and the

Pontifical Gregorian University Pontifical Gregorian University (; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana), is a private university, private pontifical university in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyo ...

in Rome, where he received a degree in

Biblical Theology Because scholars have tended to use the term in different ways, Biblical theology has been notoriously difficult to define. The academic field of biblical theology is sub-divided into Old Testament theology and New Testament theology. Academic ...

. Flock arrived in

in 1988, where he began missionary work and priestly ministry in Santa Cruz. He was appointed Assistant Vicar for the Parish of Santa Cruz, and was responsible for pastoral vocations. On October 31, 2012,

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

appointed him to be

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Forum Popilii, today

Forlimpopoli Forlimpopoli (; ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Forlì-Cesena, north-eastern Italy. It is located on the '' Via Emilia'' between Cesena and Forlì. History The name of Forlimpopoli derives from the Roman ''Forum Popilii'', most lik ...

, near

Forlì Forlì ( ; ; ; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) and city in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, and is, together with Cesena, the capital of the Province of Forlì-Cesena.The city is situated along the Via Emilia, to the east of the Montone river, ...

, in Italy, and auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Cochabamba. On November 4, 2016,

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

appointed him as

San Ignacio de Velasco San Ignacio de Velasco, is the capital of the José Miguel de Velasco Province and the San Ignacio de Velasco Municipality in the Santa Cruz Department of Bolivia. History The Jesuit mission of San Ignacio de Velasco was founded in 1748 by th ...

. Flock was consecrated bishop on January 17, 2013 by Tito Solari Capellari, S.D.B., archbishop of Cochabamba, in the Cathedral of San Sebastián. Flock has been a long-time critic of former President Morales and the wider

Movement for Socialism Movement for Socialism – Political Instrument for the Sovereignty of the Peoples (; MAS or MAS-IPSP), is a socialist political party in Bolivia. Its followers are known as ''Masistas''. In the 2005 Bolivian general election, December 2005 el ...

accusing them of violence, racism, and dividing the country.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flock, Robert Herman 1956 births Living people People from Sparta, Wisconsin Roman Catholic Diocese of La Crosse American expatriate Roman Catholic bishops in South America 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Bolivia Catholics from Wisconsin 21st-century American Roman Catholic priests Roman Catholic bishops of Cochabamba